With confident steps, Shiho walked towards Dai's apartment. It's been months since she last been there, not since the day she had found him drunk. But now that he was hurt, Akemi asked for her help with redressing his wound.
It didn't take long for Akemi to answer the door. Shiho was surprised when her sister grabbed her by the shirt suddenly to stop her from further going in. They both stood in Dai's living room soundlessly.
"Shiho," whispered Akemi ."Could you tell him to be more careful? You're a scientist he'd listen to you. He's acting as if nothing had happened. I turn for a minute and find him tottering to the kitchen to get an apple, like can't he just ask me to bring him that?"
Shiho smiled. She knew he didn't like to display weakness so to downplay his condition was typical of him to do. That idiot!
"Alright, I will."
Akemi nodded. She let go of her sister and walked her to the bedroom, where she opened the wooden door.
"Dai kun, Shiho's here to redress your wound."
Looking past Akemi towards the bed, Shiho saw Dai laying down with a dark gray blanket on him. He tried to sit up but she was faster to speak.
"No, don't move, Dai san."
"Shiho, take good care of him. I need to check the soup on the stove." The brunette said before rushing back to the kitchen.
Shiho walked inside towards Dai. For a short moment, they were both silent. She was busy with the first aid bag she had brought and Dai was following the same bag with curious eyes. Shiho finally settled it on the mattress near him and started unpacking.
"Is she making you chicken soup?" She muttered.
"I guess."
"Then good luck eating that. I better leave before it's lunchtime."
"Is it that bad?"
Shiho drew an amused smile on her face, answering him wordlessly. When she got her kit ready, she sat on a chair next to Dai and examined him with interest. Dai looked at her back, blinking innocently.
"Ah... you should…" She looked at the blanket covering him.
"Oh... Yeah."
Dai brought the blanket down, exposing his shirtless body and the wound at the lower part of his abdomen. Shiho removed the old dressing and examined the wound for a moment.
"That's a deep wound, Dai san. You need to rest and not move that area. So when you need something, make sure to ask someone else to do it for you." She said, turning away to her kit.
"Did Akemi ask you to tell me that?"
"No." She answered, and he cocked an eyebrow in disbelieve. "Doesn't matter if she told me or not, what matters is that it's the right thing to do for a faster recovery."
Soon, Shiho spilled a generous portion of a disinfectant on the wound and started rubbing it with a sterile pad. The fact that she was putting Dai in pain made her hand weaken, but she needed to do it. She glanced at Dai's face for a second, it looked quite neutral. She glanced back at the wound and then to his face again... he still showed no emotion.
"It's okay, I know this hurts. You don't have to play tough around me."
"I'm fine." Shuichi shrugged, although it did hurt him like hell. Maybe he is an idiot after all.
Shiho smiled with disbelieve. That dork, if he continues acting like this, denying his condition and walking around, he'll end up getting an infection.
"Dai san, bandaging up a wound only works if you keep it still. Once you start moving that muscle, blood will flow into the area causing the dressing to come loose and bleeding to recommence. In the worst-case scenario you'll end up with a hemorrhage, but even if you don't, the dressing becoming loose on the skin will be a portal for bacteria. So don't move around or you'll get it infected. It'll be really bad and your recovery will take much longer."
Dai responding with a mere hum, after she took all of that time to lecture him did irritate her. So she added with a mutter. "Not that I care."
"Now in normal circumstances, I would believe that." Dai started. Shiho lifted her head up and looked at him annoyed. "To be honest, I didn't know you care that much for me until I saw it with my own eyes."
Is he seriously going to tease her about being worried for him the day he got shot? Well, maybe she was a little too much worried, but still! Her lips tightened and she pressed on his wound harder.
"Ouch!" Dai said, voice broken with a weak laugh.
"Now it hurts, doesn't it? If you get an infection, it'll be much worse."
"Alright, you rest your case."
(~)
'There's something I need to take care of at work. I'll keep the key under the mat.'
Shiho read the text from Akemi before locking her phone and walking outside her apartment. She headed to Dai's. Yesterday she visited him at noon, but today, she decided to go before heading to the lab.
Her slender fingers lifted the mat in search of the key. Shiho snatched it and unlocked the door carefully. She walked inside and slowly closed the door behind her. Her eyes examined the apartment, it was a nice place that Dai had. Shiho walked towards the bedroom and stood there for a second, putting a hair strand behind her ear and lifting a fist to knock on the door and inform him of her presence, but before she could do, the door opened, exposing a once again, Dai in nothing but boxers.
"Oh, it's just you." He mumbled.
"It's nice to see you too, Dai san." She gazed at him. "You're moving around again? Didn't I tell you not to do that?"
"I heard the door open, I thought you were some thief."
"Didn't Akemi tell you she left me the key under the mat?"
"She did. That's why I thought you were a thief."
Only then that Shiho noticed what he was wearing and she already felt her cheeks starting to flush. From his bare chest, she lifted her gaze to his eyes but oh no! That's no good too! Those beautiful greens! She had to look somewhere else immediately. She took a step back and turned her head in the other direction. How could he continue talking calmly while wearing that? He has no prudery! Is he even aware of the effect he has on her when he's like that? That pervert!
Shuichi turned on his heels and tottered back to the bed, supporting himself by a hand on the wall. He was so sick of staying in bed for what seemed like a decade. He loved moving, let it be walking or running or even driving his car, just have the scenery change. For that reason, he wasn't so loyal to Shiho's advice and kept walking around more than he had to. But it wasn't merely enough to end his hunger for movement.
"You could've put on something decent since you knew I was coming." He heard her mutter.
"You were due in three hours, how was I supposed to know it was you coming now?"
She stayed outside waiting for him to put on something. Shuichi got to the bed and covered himself with the bedsheets.
"Alright, you can come in now." He announced.
Shiho walked towards him. "Actually, I was gonna come at noon. But then I moved you forward in my schedule."
She started unpacking her first aid bag. Shuichi followed her with his eyes while she prepared the kit. He recalled how much she worried about him that day, her hand was literally shaking on his skin. It brought a faint smile to his face. Despite the fact that she was raised in a criminal organization, she still had a good side in her, even if she acted like she doesn't.
When Shiho caught him smiling, she cocked an eyebrow.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing." He answered.
She gazed at him trying to find an explanation... "Pervert." She teased.
"It's not like that." Dai's smile grew wider.
Shiho sighed and turned to the pad in her hand. She started cleaning the wound.
"What were you thinking, anyway?" She asked curiously after a while, hoping to evade the boring silence.
"I was thinking that you and Akemi are no different. Although you try to act tough, deep inside you're a real softy just like your sister."
Shiho didn't like being called a softy, she decided to ignore him and continue cleaning the wound.
"...Really Shiho, thank you for everything. You saved my life." Shuichi added earnestly.
Looking at the grateful stare he was sending her melted her heart. But Dai showing emotions? That's new.
"Now who's the softy here? Did I make a mistake in your prescription dose?" She asked, amused.
"I'm serious, Shiho. I owe you one. So whenever you need help with anything! Anything!... Just let me know." He looked at her with a serious expression. He knew exactly what she needed help with and Shiho understood what he implied, but none of them said it out loud.
"I only did my job, Dai san." She responded, avoiding his gaze before he asks her another question.
(~)
"Sherry, Sherry, Sherry!" Gin said as he walked around Shiho's living room. "Doesn't matter for how long I've known you, or how much I know about you, you never seize to surprise me."
Shiho followed him with her eyes from her spot on the couch. She watched him walk closer and take a seat next to her.
"I heard you and Riko Sensei operated a surgery on Moroboshi."
"He was trying to avoid investigation and couldn't go to a hospital. He came to me shot so what do you want me to do? Leave him to die?"
"No! Of course not! That's not the problem." Gin lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. "It's in you going to his apartment when I explicitly told you not to."
"Gin, I'm just redressing his wounds. Akemi asked me to."
"And I asked you not to go there, so who are you going to listen to?" His gentle voice suddenly turned rough.
"It's just-"
"I don't care what it is. Don't go back there, Sherry."
Shiho gazed at him in silence before nodding.
(~)
Two weeks had passed since Dai got shot. Shiho redressed his wound only twice before asking Akemi to find another nurse, claiming that she's busy and can't visit him daily. It didn't just end there, but she had to cancel their Sunday meetings too.
Shiho missed her sister a lot, but each Sunday she calls, Akemi asks her to come over to Dai's apartment since she's staying there. The youngest found no good excuse to ask Akemi to leave her injured boyfriend alone and go have dinner with her outside. And she couldn't risk disobeying Gin again by accepting the invite. Her only option was to cancel their meetings week after week and it felt agonizing!
The microwave beeped. She was supposed to be with Akemi in some fancy restaurant today, instead, she was stuck home eating leftovers. She went to grab her food when she suddenly heard the phone ring.
She headed to her bedroom and grabbed it. Shiho was surprised to see Dai's name pop up on her screen. This is the first time he calls her in a very long time. She thought maybe it's Akemi calling her using his phone. After all, this is Sunday and they were supposed to be together if she hadn't canceled with her yesterday. Shiho slid the green circle to the side and approached the phone to her ear.
"Hello." She said, waiting to hear the voice of the brunette.
"Shiho." A deep voice tickled her ear.
"Oh! Hey, Dai san."
"Hey, how are you?" God his voice was like music to her ears she could listen to him go on forever...
"I'm fine. And you, how's your wound?"
"I'm fine, it's getting better… Actually, I called to tell you to go meet Akemi, she's worried about you." He said. Akemi had never said a thing to him actually because she doesn't want him to worry. But Shuichi knew she was feeling bad and knew exactly why. He'd always had a gift of uncovering what people hid, and Akemi was especially easy for him to.
"There's no need to worry, I'm just a little busy."
"Just go meet her Shiho, she's in her apartment."
"I thought she's staying with you till your wound heals."
"Yes, but she's spending this night in her apartment. So go visit her."
Earlier today, Shuichi sent Akemi home. It took him so long to convince her to leave him alone but he insisted, telling her that he doesn't want to be a burden and that he'll be fine on his own. In reality, he only sent her there because he knew Shiho will go meet her in her own apartment. He had that gift of uncovering people after all, and Shiho was no exception.
"Alright, maybe I'll go visit her later." She maintained a monotonous tone suppressing her excitement.
"It's because of Gin right? All those days you didn't meet her, he asked you not to come to my apartment didn't he?"
"No." She mumbled, cursing his sharpness. "In fact, I am really busy."
"Shiho!" His husky voice broke through the phone. "You don't have to play tough around me either."
She stayed silent for a while. "I'm not, Dai san, I was actually busy."
"Okay. Then continue being busy, and I'll continue sending Akemi to her apartment every Sunday, and you continue making exceptions to go see her there."
Shiho just smiled, thankful that he couldn't see her through the phone. Talk about someone so understanding!
(~)
(~Ten days later~)
It was 11 pm. Shiho applied a coat of moisturizer and headed to bed when she heard a loud knock on the door. Her heart stopped for a moment from the sudden noise. Gin could come at this hour, but this is not the way he knocks unless his paranoia has gotten to him again. Shiho slowly walked to the door. No matter who the knocker is she won't open. Even if it's Gin, if he's knocking like this, she better keep the door shut.
She looked through the peephole. Seeing Akemi standing behind the door made her eyes widen. What is she doing here at such an hour? Shiho opened the door fast. Noticing the traces of tears in her sister's eyes made her heart start to hammer. What could've happened?
"Akemi! What's wrong?"
"Shiho," Her face twisted and she looked as if she was going to cry again. "Dai kun, something happened to him, he wouldn't respond to me."
"What?"
"He wasn't feeling good since morning but he told me he'll be fine and I went out all day. When I came back, I found him unconscious… I was so stupid, I shouldn't have listened to him. I went to see Natsuki but…" Akemi broke down in tears.
Natsuki was Akemi's friend. She recently had lost her father so Akemi spent the entire day with her, leaving Dai alone at home.
"He's gonna be alright just calm down." Shiho breathed, pulling her sister to a hug to calm her.
"I couldn't take him to a hospital so I drove here. Come with me, Shiho."
The youngest pulled back and stared into her sister's eyes.
"Akemi, I-I can't."
"What?" The brunette asked through her tears.
"I…" Shiho swallowed. Screw Gin! "Just let me get my keys."
Akemi drove fast. She was lucky they didn't get into an accident with her vision blurred from the tears.
"So how come he wasn't feeling well this morning?" Shiho asked, hanging to her seatbelt.
"His cheeks were flushed and he had a fever. His temperature's felt high for some days but he said he's okay." Her voice suddenly broke. "I shouldn't have believed him."
For the scientist, everything pointed towards infection. Dai must've moved around as she advised against. But to have a generalized fever and eventually lose consciousness, this meant it started a while ago and was left untreated and so, it evolved to spread throughout his body.
They finally made it to his apartment. Both ran to the bedroom.
Shuichi was laying on the bed with thick drops of sweat covering his forehead. Shiho placed her hand on him to find his skin burning. She checked the wound and it confirmed her doubts.
"Is he going to be okay?" Akemi asked worriedly.
"Yes." Shiho reassured. "It's a systemic infection. We need some antibiotics and saline bags. We better go to the lab, we have all the equipment needed in there."
Akemi nodded. "Come on, let's go now."
(~)
Shiho connected the saline bag containing the antibiotics to Dai's vein. That night, she stayed with Akemi and didn't go back to her apartment. When the morning approached, she left the bedroom and went to get some rest on Dai's couch, leaving Akemi who stayed by his side all night. Akemi couldn't sleep at all, and Shiho couldn't sleep much either, they both couldn't stop worrying about Dai.
When morning came, Shiho prepared breakfast and stayed with her sister to support her.
"If you want, I could stay here with him and you could go to the funeral." Shiho offered when Akemi told her about Natsuki's loss and the funeral that was planned for today.
Akemi shook her head.
"Hey." The redhead placed a hand on her sister's "He's going to be fine. This condition is more frequent than you think and with the right medications you don't have to worry at all."
"Really?"
Shiho nodded. "Just go Akemi, your friend needs you."
Akemi nodded. She got up and hugged her sister.
Soon as Akemi left the apartment, Shiho walked to the bedroom. The room was kept dark by the curtains despite the morning light. She sat on the chair Akemi placed next to the bed and examined Dai, hoping that he'd wake. She placed her hand on his cheek and found that his temperature was still high, but there was a slight improvement.
Just when she touched his skin, Dai's eyelids twitched and he moved his head a little to the side.
Shiho heard him whisper something. She knew that delirium was a common side effect of fever, she felt curious to know what he was dreaming of and so she approached him and listened attentively...
"Ha...ru… No…"
His head turned in the other direction; It was a nightmare! Shiho shook him to wake him up. Her heart tightened when she realized he still gets nightmares for this.
"Dai san."
"No..." He whispered again, breathing heavied.
"Dai san." She called again, louder.
Dai was pulled into his own mind. She could see small drops of water glimmering at his hairline and thick drops of sweat tracing his forehead. She didn't even want to imagine what horrifying scenes he was seeing.
Shiho cupped his cheeks. "Dai san, please wake up."
That's when his green eyes opened. He was still breathing heavily when he found her face so close to his. Shuichi lifted his hand and weakly pulled her closer by her shirt. Shiho's face went down and dived inside the crook between his neck and shoulder. She felt his arms slowly crawl to encircle her.
That's where all the safety in the world laid, here is warmth, here there's no Gin or anyone else that could hurt her. She enjoyed the moment with closed eyes. Shiho felt the urge to kiss his neck and that was her warning; she needed to end this before she does something she regrets.
Just when she moved back, she felt Dai's arm pull her back in. For a brief moment, she felt hope. Although she'd never want to stab Akemi in the back, the realization that she has a slight chance with Dai...
"Don't go" He mumbled. "...Akemi."
Remembering her place, Shiho freed herself from him immediately and stood up. Of course, it's Akemi! How could she even think otherwise?
She changed the IV drip to the fastest speed, hoping that the morphine will cause him to have no memory of this incident when he regains full consciousness. Within moments he was asleep again, that's when she left the room.
(~)
Shiho stood on the balcony watching the sunset when she heard a knock on the door. Finally, Akemi's here! Now she could go back to her apartment and heal her own heart's wound from the pain she went through. She headed to the door and opened it only to find…
"Gin!" She exclaimed.
"In the flesh." He grinned at her, taking a step to the inside and forcing her to retreat. "Bet you didn't expect to see me here."
"I-"
"Save it! I didn't find you home yesterday. I figured maybe you went to your sister, but when you didn't show up at work today, I paid a visit to Akemi's apartment, but nobody was there. So I thought there's only one place left to look in."
"Gin, let me explain. Yesterday-"
"What's there to explain?" He suddenly yelled and she jumped in reflex. "Where's that fucker?" He turned his head around looking for Dai before walking towards the first door he saw. It was the bedroom.
Shiho grabbed him by the arm. "Gin, listen. Dai had a bad infection and Akemi asked me to help, I couldn't have said no." She walked with him inside the bedroom as her attempts to pull him back failed, her strength was no match to his.
Gin went inside and found Dai laying unconscious.
"See! I had to come to-"
"You didn't have to come!" He interrupted, kicking the pole that held the saline bag with his leg. "You weren't supposed to come after I'd warned you twice... TWICE Sherry. Do you think because I disregarded it before you could do whatever you want?"
"Gin, please, Calm down! I only came here to offer my help as a scientist. He's unconscious, nothing could've happened."
"What happened is that you disobeyed me, Sherry, twice." He glared at her. "I'm not letting it pass easily this time, let's go now."
Shiho looked at Dai, and then back at Gin who walked outside the bedroom. She followed the silver-haired man, leaving the other behind.
(~)
Gin parked his car in front of a warehouse. Shiho left it feeling uneasy. Where the hell is he taking her? She stood in her place next to the black Porsche.
"Come on." He said.
She followed him inside hesitantly. If Dai were to be okay, she would've asked for his help. What would be the point of hiding it all from him when she was about to die?
Once they got inside, Gin held her upper arm forcing her to follow his faster steps. He walked her to a metallic wall and pushed her violently against it.
"You bitch! Did you think I won't find out about you spending the night there?"
"I told before not to call me that." Shiho hissed angrily. "Gin, he had a systemic infection. He could've died if I hadn't intervened."
"To hell with him. You think I give a shit if he dies or not?" Gin raised his voice causing her to retreated her head. His gun pressed on her chin, lifting it up.
"My sister does! She came to me crying, I couldn't have said no."
"Don't you have any respect for me, Sherry?" Gin pressed the gun further to her chin.
It's so easy for him to kill, he would do it now, he would blow her brain in a heartbeat. And he would punish Akemi too. He always said that if Shiho did something wrong, he will punish her, and he always said that he'll start by killing her sister. What if he did something to Akemi? Shiho's legs were barely able to keep her standing. She didn't mind dying, but what her death would bring to Akemi is what worried her more. She needed to survive to protect her.
"… I do, Gin." She answered, feeling her breathing quicken.
"Then why would you disobey me? You know how much I hate that don't you?"
"yes, I know... I'm sorry."
"I've already got a bunch of apologies, that's all you do before fucking things up every time." Gin looked frightening.
"No no, I won't do it again, Gin... Please, just put the gun down."
"Why should I?" He asked. His icy eyes looked too calm from years of experience. He has been in this situation more times than he could count and it was too easy for him to execute. Gin moved the gun to her temple. "You lied to me before, why should I believe you this time?"
"Because… because." Her mind was blank. She felt like at every second, he could press the trigger and send her to her death. "Just put the gun down so we could talk."
"I won't sherry...not this time."
"Gin please!" Shiho closed her eyes not even aware of how those shaky limbs could keep her standing. Glimmering tears started invading her blues and they were so clear in the corner of her eyes. "I fucked up, and I'm sorry, I won't do it again." She whispered.
It was the first time Gin sees Sherry cry. He broke her, he broke her arrogance and her pride, he got the confirmation that he still has the power over her... that's when he lowered his gun.
Hello! I hope there wasn't too much drama in this chapter because I genuinely dislike too much drama. Till the next time...
Next chapter: Shiho caught Shuichi in the act, her poisonous words scold him.
